Page 87 - WDT Winter 2018 japan

TEMPURA

e love tempura. Not because it’s deep-fried, although
we like pretty much everything fried, but because the
fried coating is so light and crisp. The Japanese love
it too and can thank three Portuguese sailors for the
inspiration. On their way to Macau in 1543, the trio was
blown off course and landed on the Japanese island
of Tagameshima. The sailors liked it there and began
trading goods. More Portuguese traders followed, and
business flourished until the shogun banished them
in 1639. One thing they left behind was their recipe for
batter-coated fried green beans called peixinhos da
horta. The Japanese refined it and renamed the dish
tempura.
Tempura can be made with almost any meat or
vegetable, but fish and shrimp are proteins of choice.
It’s usually served with a small serving of Tetsuya
sauce made from sweet sake, ginger and soy sauce.
According to Japanese etiquette, tempura is eaten
with chopsticks, not picked up with your fingers,
although it seems to be perfect finger food. I resisted,
but in the end, decided to go with the flow and wield
the tender morsels into my mouth the proper way.

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